Forward wants to more than double its remaining capacity, from 23.1 million cubic yards of trash to 55.1 million cubic yards. That, according to planning documents, will keep the landfill operating until about 2039. Without expanding, the site will be at capacity and have to close in less than 10 years.

The new plan reduced considerably the expansion proposed two years ago when Allied Waste Services, which owes Forward, proposed tripling Forward's capacity and increasing the rate at which it is filled - meaning more truck traffic.

Forward has scaled back its plan. Opponents haven't scaled back their concerns.

Opposition basically comes in two forms: The expansion will further encroach on farmland; and, even more birds will be drawn to the area, endangering flights at nearby Stockton Metropolitan Airport.

Both arguments are thin.

Forward already operates there, so encroachment - if that's the word - is a fact on the ground. The ongoing construction of a $900 million, 1,700-plus-bed prison hospital nearby might also be considered an encroachment. It's being built on state-owned land already used for corrections operations, so it, too, is a fact on the ground.

Birds swarming the current Forward operation have not proved to be much of a problem for aircraft operation.

Still, Forward has brought in falconers to scare off the seagulls. Likely that will continue if there's a need.

A third but largely unmentioned concern involves bringing garbage in from surrounding counties. Who wants that?

The fact is, nonrecyclable garbage we all generate has to go somewhere. And like the other arguments, bringing in outside garbage is an established fact. The time to complain about that is long past.